Light as a Cloud - Can light lager ever be considered craft?

Postal goodies!

I'd like to give a huge personal thank you to the folks over at www.beer365.co.uk to sending me a box of 9 beers to sample and write about on the website! Having only set up last Friday they're winging beers my way already, which is fantastic.

I'll be popping down some tasting notes of all 9 beers which you can find with the "beer365" tag.

Painting a Picture - John Robinson of Boundary Cooperative Brewery.

Our first foray into Irish brewing begins with the beautifully hand painted artwork of John Robinson which is featured on Boundary Cooperative Brewery's bottle labels. We chat to him about his old school way of creating stunning bottle art.

"The Crossroad between Art, Design and Science" - Lervig's Nanna Guldbæk tells us about her designs.

They're coming thick and fast these days, but we've got another treat in the form of an interview with Nanna Gulabæk - fresh out of the box at Lervig. Having only worked there since Jan, she's put her stamp on the labels, producing art from a multitude of mediums. Taking photography, illustration and her signature bright red fingernails - she's revamping Lervig's style one can at a time. I'm a huge fan and you can find the interview below.

We chat to Drew Millward about his ridiculous skill with a pencil.

You may recognise Drew's artwork from the fantastic Patrons Projects at Northern Monk, or even from the annual Leeds Beer Festival posters, but did you know Drew has also done artwork for The Foo Fighters, Billy Bragg or the Black Keys? See our interview with the man himself below!

Our first interview is up and rolling!

A huge thanks is in order to Kasper from To Øl for answering our questions on all things Art, Design and of course, beer. You can find the interview below!Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll also be chatting to Neale Payling from Stigbergets and Karl Grandin, co-owner and designer of Omnipollo and their distinctive look!

Getting on the Omnipollo train.

Recently I've been back on the Omnipollo vibe, sometimes I just want a beer thats absolutely huge. In the past, I'd only tried the Dugges brewed version of Noa, so when I spotted it this time I had to drink it again. After a brief chat with the guy in the bottle shop, he mentioned the other superb bottles they had in stock.

With one more under my arm (Selassie - Vanilla and Ethiopian Coffee stout) I hurried back home and scoured the internet for some more. Honestbrew were my first and final stop, stocking all four of the Buxton collaboration Ice Cream beers and a rum barrel aged Hypnopompa.

So coming up soon I'll be showcasing each one of these beauties with thorough tasting notes and honestly, I can't wait!

Upcoming interviews and a new heading.

Hey guys,

Despite being obsessed with beer, I'm also a huge fan of art. Both brewing and beer culture seems to be a fantastic opportunity for artists to showcase their artwork on a product that encourages independent creativity. I feel it promotes a real sense of community from the brewers to the artists and finally to the consumer.

Luckily, these guys seem to be very receptive and friendly, so hopefully over the next week or so I'll be publishing three fantastic interviews.

Karl Grandin - Co-Founder and Designer for the fantastic gypsy brewery Omnipollo, famous for their dessert style imperial stouts and mega juicy IPA's.

Kasper Ledet - Art Director of To Øl and BRUS since 2010 and 2016 respectively. I ADORE Kasper's beautiful but minimal style.

Neale Payling - British born graphic artist responsible for the fantastic artwork on Gothenburg based brewery Stigbergets.

Check out the Art tab for these interviews and more regarding art within brewing!

Hooooooo boy!

I like walking.

Today I decided a small stroll into York would be interrupted by a stop at Trembling Madness, probably York's best bottle shop. Despite 650 different bottles burdening the shelves, one stuck out like a sore thumb. Located near the entrance, the smiling green face of Noa - Omnipollo's pecan mud pie stout beckoned closer.

Needless to say I grabbed what I came in for, as well as a bottle, and shot off home.

Tasting notes to come soon!

Thank God for Cloudwater...

This week's tastings come from the ever wonderful Cloudwater, two of which are collabs with Other Half Brewing Company based in New York. A Belgian Tripel from the folks at De Molen also graces our glass.

Ask yourself, what does beer mean to you?

Is the exact question I asked myself when I was thinking about starting my own website. I wanted to see something that was much more objective - celebrating beer as a beautifully unique craft as opposed to critique's breweries and beer styles. In my opinion, beer should be widely available and good quality - in both niche bottle shops and supermarkets for people who are either new to craft or a seasoned veteran. This is why I am fundamentally opposed to the "beer review", a flawed expression of what beer is about as a concept - again in my opinion if you don't like it, don't drink it. Attempting to sway others opinions on such a subjective subject as beer to me seems ridiculous, what they don't like others may? I prefer to give tasting notes from each beer, explaining what flavours I taste, mouthfeel and appearance with a price.​

I'll also be taking pictures from local breweries with some words from the brewers themselves - with what craft beer means to them and how they feel the best distribution methods are. I'll also be speaking to artists who work directly with brewers, designing beer labels and pump clips.